The present invention is directed to a room air conditioner, and more particularly to the construction of and function of an electrical control box in an air conditioner.
Room air conditioners generally comprise an inside fan or blower which is powered by a motor to draw air through an evaporator coil to be cooled and to direct the cooled air back into the room. Also, such air conditioners include a condenser coil for dissipating the heat picked up by the evaporator coil and a second fan or blower is provided to cause an air flow over the condenser coil to increase the heat dissipation of that coil. A compressor is provided to increase the pressure of a refrigerant which is then supplied to the evaporator coil for evaporation and thus cooling.
Additional features of a room air conditioner generally include a partition wall separating the evaporator coil from the condenser coil so as to maintain one side of the air conditioner as the inside and the other side of the air conditioner as the outside.
Due to the complexity in numbers of parts associated with a room air conditioner, assembly of such a device oftentimes includes complicated and time intensive assembly steps and requires intricate manipulation of parts and tools. Such a process results in an increased cost of the room air conditioner due to increased manufacturing costs. One important component of a room air conditioner is the electrical control panel which generally includes control buttons or knobs for controlling fan speed, temperature and various other functions. The electrical controls are connected both to the motor as well as to the compressor and further are connected to a source of electrical power to the air conditioner. Grounding, and other safety requirements must be met. Thus, the complexities and wiring of the control panel due to the various components posses a further manufacturing complexity adding to the cost of an air conditioner.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner control box assembly which is small and compact.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a plastic control box assembly that meets all Underwriters Laboratories.RTM. and manufacturers safety requirements.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a control box for an air conditioner having a minimum of parts which require a minimum of labor to assembly.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a control box for a room air conditioner which houses the indoor fan motor of the air conditioner.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a control box for a window room air conditioner which is molded from plastic and which serves as a structural mounting component for a portion of the air conditioner housing.